“I never, ever, went to regular doctors’ appointments. I only ever went to emergency rooms” replied Hadra. “Because every time I went to an appointment, the doctor would rush in and be rushed and I would always get glossed over. I remember in my younger years going to the doctors because of stomach pains and high blood pressure only to be told that I needed to lose weight and continue taking my medication – it was always cold and short.”
After relocating to Menifee, Hadra’s daughter recommended she find a new doctor in the area, one closer to home. Hadra’s daughter strongly recommended she establish care with a new Primary Care Physician, to give her health a fighting chance. Her daughter promised that this time would be different and reluctantly, Hadra agreed. The next week, Hadra had her first appointment with Dr. Sandhu. She’s never looked back.
Years later, and with a happier and healthier self, Hadra grinned from ear-to-ear as she reminisced on her first appointment with Neighborhood: “From the moment I walked into Dr. Sandhu’s office, he just listened! He introduced himself and asked how he could help me. He really looked into my eyes and waited for me to respond. He really listened! He didn’t have a tablet in his hands, he was solely focused on me in that moment.” Smiling even more so, she continued, “I was taken by surprise. Almost speechless. Eventually, I said that I’ve never had a doctor listen to me. That was five years ago, and I’m still smiling about that experience.”
Hadra decided, immediately following her first appointment with Dr. Sandhu, that she was going to lose weight – once and for all. She recalls, “That day, I made a 30-year change in my health. I started eating healthy based on the recommendations Dr. Sandhu gave me. Then, my headaches disappeared. Then, my blood pressure began to drop. To date, I’ve lost 60 pounds.”
Dr. Sandhu, as said best by Hadra, “[he] remembers everything about you – even the small details, like my family member’s names and where I went for vacation. He comes to you as a person and I sincerely believe that I’m his family, not his patient. And he’s part of my family, too.”
With a renewed sense of self and an improved relationship with healthcare, Hadra became her own patient advocate. Not only for herself, but for her family too. Hadra began suggesting Dr. Sandhu to everyone she knew. Hadra’s daughter, the one who made the first appointment on her mother’s behalf, is now Dr. Sandhu’s patient. Even her daughter’s boyfriend has established care with Neighborhood and is currently receiving care from Dr. Sandhu! It didn’t take long for all members of Hadra’s immediate family and extended family to begin receiving high-quality care from health professionals who care — all of them continue to see Dr. Sandhu.
Hadra recounted her significant life changes with pride, explaining that it was because someone believed in her that she started to believe in herself. She said, “Dr. Sandhu set realistic goals for me and encouraged me all the meanwhile.” And when asked about the care her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend have received with Neighborhood, she commented, “Great! Both great. And I don’t know what Dr. Sandhu said to my daughter’s boyfriend, but he quit smoking cigarettes!”
he continued, “For so long, I felt ugly. I was rotten. I thought to myself if I die then I die, but after seeing Dr. Sandhu and beginning to change my life around, I want to live and be healthy. I want to feel and look good. I used to be an overgrown, bruised tomato. Now I’m a young, fresh, ripe tomato. And I plan to keep it that way.”